In recent years, mobile communication services have expanded and increased in popularity around the world. Many advanced networks offer wireless mobile communication service for voice calls, mobile phone messaging services (e.g., text and/or multimedia) and data communications. The data services, for example, enable surfing the world wide web, e.g., via a browser. The speeds of the data communications services have steadily increased as service providers have migrated the networks to newer generation technologies with broadband data communication capabilities, and the mobile stations have steadily advanced to take advantage of the new network technologies. The data communication capabilities of the mobile stations and the broadband data communication services offered by the networks enable users to perform more and more tasks from their mobile stations. Examples of mobile station content items include, without limitation, media, games, messaging, social networks, stores, and any other applications or information for use on a mobile phone or on a tablet computer.
Mobile developers today are increasingly creating applications on mobile devices or mobile stations. These applications are usually supplied through online distribution, rather than traditional methods of boxed software or direct sales from software vendors. These suppliers, known as “app stores,” provide centralized catalogues of software from the operating system (OS) supplier or device manufacturer and developers with whom the store operator has contractual arrangements, and allow easy installation and updates. The app store is often shared with smartphones that use the same operating system. Some apps may be distributed for free, but users pay fees for many applications. Mobile content, such as music and/or video content may be distributed from on-line stores in a similar fashion. A smartphone, the downloaded apps and any downloaded content become valuable assets of the user/customer.
Millions of mobile devices are lost to fraud scams that target network theft and provide a black market for lost or stolen devices. With global demand for mobile devices, fraud scams and theft are on the rise. Mobile devices that are stolen or lost are still useful in wireless mobile communication and, thus, have an available market in this country and overseas. For example, stolen mobile devices can still be used via Wi-Fi and still have value on the black market.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide a strategy for mitigating theft and resale of mobile devices, by devaluing lost or stolen devices. For example, as will be described later, by providing a system and method for restricting use of a mobile device after it has been reported lost or stolen, the value of the mobile device would decrease.